Rewriting The ABCs Of Education Facilities, From Sandbox To Lecture Hall

The education industry still has a lot to learn, at least when it comes to facilities construction and maintenance.

As public policy, demography and technological advancements reshape the education sector, organizations ranging from early childhood care providers to large university systems are looking for specialized counsel on how to adapt their physical spaces for continued success.

For help, they are increasingly turning to firms like Colliers Engineering & Design, its education market leaders say.

“Colleges and daycare operators appreciate that we understand their world,” said David Hincher, national architecture market lead, higher education, at Colliers Engineering & Design. “We meet them where they are.”

Universal Pre-K Rollout

With public debate hyperfocused on the issue of affordability, including that of childcare, many states and cities are expanding funding to provide access to prekindergarten for families with children as young as 3 and 4 years old.

The change creates both opportunities and complications for private sector providers, from large national franchises to small family-owned businesses, said Justin Mihalik, national market lead for early childhood education at Colliers Engineering & Design.

To ensure a rapid and seamless rollout, school districts are partnering with private companies. But to qualify for public programs, these for-profit childcare centers often find they must modify their facilities to comply with regulatory requirements, Mihalik said.

“In New Jersey alone, there are over 600 individual school districts ranging from urban to suburban and even rural,” Mihalik said. “All have to figure out how to implement a state-level policy.”

Some school districts have spare buildings, but others have no property or land to work with at all. In all cases, they must create additional classroom space for this new population of incoming children.

Colliers Engineering & Design clients include large childcare franchisors such as The Goddard School and Lightbridge Academy.

“We’re helping clients identify potential locations and the potential licensing capacity for a given site, whether it’s an existing building that needs to be renovated or a ground-up project,” Mihalik said. “We help answer the question: How many children do we need to enroll to make the business work?”

The firm advises clients on both spatial and financial aspects based on economic conditions and legal requirements that vary market to market, he said.

Digging For Worms

While technology tools have been incorporated in classrooms across the age spectrum, one counterintuitive early childhood education trend is the push from parents for more screen-free spaces for young children, Mihalik said.

“They want kids interacting with each other and with the teacher and digging in the dirt,” he said. “Parents figure that kids can get screen time at home.”

That philosophy extends to designing inclusive environments for children on the autism spectrum or those who have other developmental needs.

“There’s a shift toward creating calming environments, spaces for those with tactile and sound sensitivity,” Mihalik said.

Doing More With Less

While access to early childhood education expands in many parts of the country, higher education faces a different set of challenges that impose new budgetary constraints on the sector.

For example, a shrinking pool of traditional college-age students is translating into falling enrollment on many campuses.

“Community colleges have felt the impact the most,” Hincher said.

As a result, these organizations find themselves with more space than they need.

“One educational client asked us to analyze how to consolidate their operations and decommission certain buildings to help them run leaner,” Hincher said. “At the same time, we are advising them on a capital improvement plan to reinvest in the spaces they will actually use, to make them as attractive to students as possible.”

College and university administrators are also moving forward with programs to bring new cohorts of students to campus. The initiatives often involve converting traditional academic spaces into workforce training centers, community spaces and other kinds of flexible learning environments.

The goal is to generate new revenue streams while lowering tuition cost for students, as federal funding cuts curtail students’ ability to pay.

Artificial intelligence-inspired fear of the disappearance of well-paying white-collar jobs is driving interest in vocational training, Hincher said.

For community and regional colleges, that means doubling down on programs in professions like the culinary arts and skilled trades such as electrical and plumbing, which are seen as more AI-resistant.

“We’re also hearing more about intentionally designing for flexibility and modularity,” Hincher said. “It can’t all be lecture halls with fixed seating. Teachers want to be able to deconstruct the classroom and modify it to suit their styles.”

Deep Bench Of Expertise

To help clients navigate these and other challenges, Colliers Engineering & Design has staff experts and specialists beyond the traditional practice areas of architecture and engineering.

“Childcare operator clients are looking to close financing gaps with whatever money they can get from local, state and federal sources,” Mihalik said. “To help them, we have grant writers who know how to navigate that world.”

Other ancillary but critical services that Colliers Engineering & Design provides include condition assessments, third-party inspections, unmanned aerial drone surveying and subsurface utility surveying, Hincher added.

The education landscape is increasingly complex and evolving quickly. It pays to partner early in the process with strategic advisers who are subject matter experts who understand the business, Mihalik said.

“We know what works,” he said.

This article was produced in collaboration between Colliers Engineering & Design and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.